Quid Pro Quo
by Nova Starlight
Summary: A "What If" Scenario. What if Ono had accepted Tachibana's offer of sex in exchange for staying at the Antique Bakery?


Disclaimer: I do not own Antique Bakery

Author's Notes: This is a "What If" Scenario

"Quid Pro Quo"

By: Nova Starlight

"Not that it would ever, ever, ever, ever happen, but would you stay at the shop if I slept with you?"

Hearing those words come from Tachibana had to be the biggest shock of his life. He glanced quickly to his side to see that their waitress had made a hasty retreat and Ono could not blame her. He looked back at Tachibana and took note of his appearance. Though some might have mistaken his posture and gaze to be one of indifference, Ono knew better. He could see that Tachibana had bags starting to make their appearance under his eyes. His half lidded gaze was due to exhaustion and worry and not to indifference. He felt the light grip on his heart at the thought. Did this mean that Tachibana cared enough to worry?

When Ono stayed silent for minute after agonizing minute, Tachibana felt like he was going to jump out of his skin. He had just offered up his own body to Ono, and there was no response, no protests, no immediate rejection. He could not help but think back on the night that Ono had tried to kiss him, how he had blurted out that he was the Tachibana that had broken his heart years before. He had simply smiled, seemed relieved that his charms would not work on him. Now, here he was offering the only thing that he could afford in order to keep Ono here. Was he out of his mind? He should just let him go, let that damn frenchie have him and let them be a happy gay couple in gay Paris. He finally made eye contact and registered the surprise on Ono's face.

When their eyes met, Ono forced himself to smile. "So, if you are making an offer like that, I guess it means that you can't afford to give me a bigger salary?"

Tachibana did not see the need to lie, "My assets are under family control until my grandfather passes." He looked back out the window by their table as he continued, "But, I figured that if you took off with Jean Baptiste, that it wasn't about the salary."

Ono felt a slight blush rise in his cheeks. He was no virgin and had been with more partners than many would consider to be respectable, but something about discussing this with Tachibana made him feel like a naïve school boy again. He knew that he should tell him the truth, that he did not really want to leave the Antique Bakery, but he could not seem to speak the words. He raised his coffee cup to his lips and slowly sipped. His eyes looked over the edge of his mug to see that Tachibana's expression was not one of disgust, it seemed almost sad.

Tachibana sighed and looked into Ono's eyes, "Maybe, I thought my body was the only thing I had to offer that stood a chance of competing with that French asshole…" His words trailed off and he lifted his own cup and chugged its remaining contents. 'I guess I forgot that you did not even remember having feelings for me, I'm just another guy that's 'your type'."

If he did not know better, Ono would think that Tachibana seemed jealous of Jean Baptiste. He had known within minutes of seeing the two reacting to each other that they were too similar to ever get along. Then again, maybe that is what drew him to Jean in the first place. He had spent years searching out the elements; parts and pieces, of Tachibana in one lover after another. Even after he had long since forgotten…or maybe repressed…the name and image of his target, he continued to search. The silence continued to hang between them and Ono knew he needed to say something, reject his offer, brush off this tension…anything. Finally, he decided what he was going to do and smiled brightly. "So…how far is your place? or would you prefer mine?"

Tachibana felt his jaw must have hit the table. Oh shit! What had he gotten himself into? Before he could compose himself and respond, he felt a hand gently caressing his leg underneath the table. He nearly jumped, he felt as if every eye in the restaurant was fixed on them; knowing exactly what was happening, but that did not seem to be the case. As his eyes traveled around the room, he found that the other patrons were wrapped up in their own conversations and not paying any attention to them at all; even their nosy waitress was gabbing with a busboy. Ono's hand continued to lightly stroke back and forth over his leg, but instead of growing more anxious, he felt himself calming down.

Ono saw the panic come over Tachibana at the touch of his hand, and quickly dissipate after he scanned the restaurant. He had been checking if anyone else was watching, Ono realized. He felt empowered by how quickly Tachibana had relaxed. Maybe, Tachibana was not as adverse to him as he had always believed. "I think maybe it would be better if we just made our way to my place," he whispered softly. Then he moved his hand away and reached for his wallet. Tachibana seemed to be frozen in place, as he watched Ono pay the bill and then reach for his arm.

As they walked to Ono's apartment, Tachibana realized that Ono had linked their arms together, but he did not really mind. He was too busy furtively glancing around, looking to see if anyone was watching them. He spared a glance at Ono to see that he was simply strolling along, and did not seem to be paying any special attention to the people around him. He had to wonder what was going through his mind right now; was he nervous? "Of course not," he told himself. "He probably just appreciates the convenience of not having to go pick up some random guy tonight." If Tachibana lived to be a hundred he did not think he would ever understand how Ono operated. He seemed to sway back and forth between being delighted by his ability to attract any man he found attractive and feeling cursed by it. "It doesn't matter," he thought. "Ono is your employee for as long as you can keep him at the bakery, you don't need to understand his personal life."

Without realizing, they had stopped in front of an apartment building and Ono was holding the door open for him. Tachibana walked in to the entryway and followed Ono as he began to climb the stairs. He wanted to say something but could not for his life think of what he should say. Every time he spared a quick peek at Ono he was greeted by the same small smile and lost all his nerve. When he walked into Ono's apartment, he was struck by how expensive everything seemed to be. Ono really did have expensive tastes; as men motivated by money usually do. He watched as Ono slipped off his jacket and tossed it onto the couch, then turned to face him. "Are you sure about this Tachibana?" he asked.

As Ono had asked the question, he had hoped to see some of the panic leave Tachibana's face, but it remained in the same fearful expression. He wanted to laugh at how pathetic and ridiculous this all seemed to be. He had to wonder if Tachibana even realized that his face had portrayed the look of an animal being led to slaughter during the entire walk to his apartment. Finally, Tachibana nodded and slipped off his own jacket. Ono had to admit that despite sensing Tachibana's reservations, his fingers were itching to touch him, to undo the buttons on his shirt, to move down to his pants and pull down the zipper. Was he really so eager to have Tachibana, that he did not care how he felt about it? He reached for his own t-shirt and pulled it over his head. He saw as Tachibana parroted his actions and his eyes began to take in his shirtless form. "Now, now…no need to rush things," he began in his most seductive voice. "Maybe I wanted to take off your clothes."

Tachibana surprised him by laughing at the comment. "So, why don't you tell me what to do," he replied.

"Actually, I was hoping you would tell me," he continued; as if Tachibana had not laughed.

"Huh?" Tachibana questioned.

"I mean, I want you to tell me what you like," Ono responded as he moved in closer to him. "No need to be shy Tachibana, there must be something you like done to you…for you." He allowed his hands to run down Tachibana's chest and rested upon the fly of his jeans. As he began to unzip his pants he looked back at his face and saw that he was looking away.

"Look Ono…let's just get this over with," he conceded in a voice barely above a whisper.

"So impatient huh?" Ono retorted and pushed Tachibana back towards the bed. He the surprise in his expression as he landed back on the mattress. "So tell me what you like, and we can get down to business."

Tachibana ran his fingers through his hair and looked away. He sighed as he mumbled, "Come on, Ono what's it matter?…This is to make you happy right?"

Ono could not really describe the emotion that crashed over him like a tidal wave. This is what he wanted; to see Tachibana naked, feel what it would be like to obtain the only man who had ever been able to resist him. However, as he observed him sitting there on his bed, begrudgingly giving in to him, he realized this was not what he had in mind. It was his turn to look away with a sigh. He found himself staring out the window at the glow of the streetlights reaching up toward the dark sky. "Maybe we should just forget this," he mused.

"What!" Tachibana exclaimed. "Look, Wait!" He rose up to stand in front of Ono and reached out to put his hands on Ono's shoulders. He took a deep breath and asked, "You wanted to know what I like?" Ono smiled a small, sad, smile as he nodded in response. Tachibana could not look Ono in the eye as he said, "I always liked oral sex."

"Really?" Ono inquired. "How long has it been since someone gave you head?"

"Let's just say its been a while," Tachibana answered with a laugh.

Ono smile widened and he put his hands on Tachibana's chest. "This is what I want," he thought to himself. "Tachibana seems more relaxed, even joking and laughing." He pushed Tachibana back on to the mattress and lowered himself down on to the floor. He reached for the waist band of Tachibana's pants and slowly began to pull them off. He found his gaze constantly shifting back and forth from Tachibana's body and his face. He kept waiting for a look of panic to resurface, but it did not appear.

As his pants were tossed aside, Ono's hands moved to Tachibana's tight, white, underwear. His hand moved through the folds and was a both relieved and a little surprised to find that Tachibana was already responding to him. As he stroked gently and then with increasing pressure he could not look away from Tachibana's face. He had leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Ono could feel his own body's response stirring, but he tried his best to ignore it. He wanted to make Tachibana's body respond, make him feel pleasure. Ono leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Tachibana's bare chest and heard him gasp in response. He paid no attention and began to place a trail of kisses down his chest, moving towards his ultimate goal.

Tachibana's head was spinning as Ono stroked him, kissed him. It all seemed surreal; as if he had stepped inside one of Ono's crazy fantasies. He tried to form thoughts, but his mind was racing and nothing was making sense. This whole situation confused him, he was not gay, so why did this feel so good? "It's just because you have been alone so long, it's not because it's Ono," he insisted to himself. Then he felt Ono's mouth move from his chest down to his cock and he could not stop the moan that escaped his lips. He kept repeating to himself that he was just enjoying getting oral sex, but no matter how tightly he shut his eyes and tried to clear his mind, he could not block out that it was Ono sucking on his penis. He finally opened his eyes and looked down at Ono. He felt his pulse jump and squeezed his eyes shut.

The pressure began to increase and Tachibana could feel his control slipping further and further. He could feel small beads of perspiration forming on his skin, as his body temperature rose. It had been too long since he had been with a woman, felt soft lips against his skin; but these lips, though soft, did not belong to a woman. Unlike his mind, his body seemed to have neither care or concern in his response to Ono. This could not be good, now that he was experiencing this, pleasure, would his body always act this way? As Ono continued, he found that he had to bite down on his lip to keep from moaning. His climax seemed closer and closer, then he felt Ono moan around him and barely held onto his control.

Tachibana then felt Ono move away and was concerned. Did he do something wrong? He watched Ono stand and begin to remove his own pants. Tachibana could feel the heat rising in his body as he watched Ono slowly undoing the buttons on his button fly jeans; one by one they opened. As he slid down his pants and underwear, removed his glasses, Tachibana knew that his face was bright red as he took in Ono's naked body. His eyes traveled from his face, noting the seductive look in his eyes and the seductive pose. He now realized what Eiji meant when he said Ono gave off a sexy air. He was not sure just what happened to him at that moment, but he no longer cared about holding back.

Tachibana reached out for Ono and pulled him back in towards the bed. Their lips met and Tachibana was instantly swept up in their kiss. Ono was caught off guard by his kiss but he was not complaining. As the kiss continued, Ono pushed Tachibana back onto the mattress and reached into the nightstand drawer. Tachibana seemed unaware of anything but their kiss as he procured a bottle of lubricant and a condom from the drawer. Ono could not believe how different Tachibana seemed to him in this moment, gone was all of his posturing and disapproval. He put some of the lubricant on his fingers and reached back to prepare himself. All the while he managed to support himself on one arm and continue his kiss with Tachibana. As his fingers moved in and out, he was panting and moaning into Tachibana's mouth.

Finally, Tachibana pulled away and watched as the reactions played over Ono's face. He quickly realized what Ono had been doing as they kissed. Something about seeing him like that, did things to him and he moved his hand to pull Ono's hand away. "Isn't it supposed to be me, making you moan like that?" he asked with a smile. Ono smiled back at him and he directed, "Put that condom on me."

As Ono put the condom on Tachibana and then began to move down onto his cock, he called out Tachibana's name. He kept waiting to wake up and this all to have been a cruel and wondrous dream, but it never happened. His eyes caught on Tachibana's face and saw that he had thrown his head back and his mouth was hanging open. Ono moved his hips and heard Tachibana moan in response. As they built their rhythm together, Tachibana buried his face into Ono's neck and began to plant kisses there that were enflamed by his hot breath. Tachibana was being so quiet, all Ono could hear was a gentle chorus of his panting breath. Ono tried to hold back, but he could not block his response. He was moaning "Tachibana," over and over again.

As he came, he felt Tachibana shudder and in that second, he heard his name, "Yusuke." He wondered if he had dreamed it, had it simply been a figment of his overactive imagination. He pulled away and saw that Tachibana had been biting his lip, so hard in fact there was a small trace of blood on his chin. Had that been how he had managed to stay so quiet? Tachibana moaned as they completed pulling apart. Ono looked at his flushed face and bruised lip and quickly turned away.

He sat there on the edge of the bed and buried his head in his hands. What had he done? As he looked back he saw that the sated and satisfied had already disappeared from Tachibana's face to be replaced by his familiar look of panic. He stood up and reached for a nearby box of tissues, he quickly cleaned himself up and began to put his clothes back on. "Where are you going?" he heard Tachibana ask.

"I'm going for a walk, feel free to use my shower before you leave," he replied without turning around.

"Ono…" Tachibana began, but appeared unsure of how to proceed.

"Deal's a deal," Ono asserted. "I won't be leaving the Antique. I will see you tomorrow." Then he opened the door and walked out, without looking behind him once. He had no idea what thoughts were racing through Tachibana's head right now; most likely regrets. He made it around the block before he felt the tight grip in his chest. Why did he have to break down that wall he had built around his heart. Now, he knew what it felt like to kiss him, be held by him, and touch him. He now knew for certain what he would never truly attain. He leaned against a building and felt the stinging in his eyes. He reached up and brushed away the single tear that fell from his eye. He had cried enough tears for Tachibana.

The End

Author's Notes: I was inspired to write this after reading the Antique Bakery doujinshi. They are translated into English and though they were not scanned or translated by me, I would be happy to pass them along to any interested fans. I have now added these to my website, a direct link to the page is . The files are hosted on Mediafire. Click the link provided and it will open up a download page for Mediafire.


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